Swan Reject: The Next Paula Abdul?

Last week, the makeover artists of The Swan crushed contestant Kelly B.'s dream of competing in their plastic-surgery pageant. But instead of letting bitter tears stain her brand-new cheeks with mascara, the 25-year-old Milwaukee resident decided to pursue another heartfelt goal — to become a cheerleader. Here, straight up, she tells TV Guide Online all about it.

TV Guide Online: Would you have been perfectly happy to leave The Swan with just a nose job?
Kelly B.: Yeah. My nose is something that I was teased about ever since third or fourth grade. I always ripped up any pictures of me and my side profile. Even as I got older, people would say, "Did you get hit?" or "Did you break your nose?" It's just a big deal for me.

TVGO: No pun intended, I'm sure. So is your boyfriend as big a jerk as he appeared to be on air? He was awfully unsupportive.
Kelly B.: It was a little creative editing, I think. My boyfriend was supportive of me going through the whole program. But before I left for the show, I found out that cheek implants were something that my doctor might want me to have to fill out my face. I thought a cheek implant would give me really bulky, huge cheeks, so I decided against it. But when I left to go on the show, I couldn't really talk to my boyfriend and tell him what was going on. So in the phone call right before surgery, I told him I was getting cheek implants, and he was afraid that maybe I was being forced to do it.

TVGO: Hence, his coming off like a putz.
Kelly B.: Yeah. The thing that made me sad with the phone call right before surgery was that he was so worried about the whole cheek-implant thing, and in a way, he didn't give me as much support I needed by saying, "I hope your surgery goes well." He meant to say it; he was just focused on other stuff. But he really isn't like that. We recently got engaged. I know a lot of people would think, "Why would you want to get engaged to him?" But he's a really great guy.

TVGO: So, did the other Swans hate you because you're the only one who had to gain weight?
Kelly B.: Yeah. I had to eat additional food, and it was hard for some of the other contestants to watch me do that. I felt bad eating in front of them! One thing the show didn't mention, too, was that after surgery, I lost eight pounds — just from all the light food that I had to eat, like Jell-O and soup. So I actually had to gain that weight back, plus the additional pounds they wanted me to put on. I just have a really high metabolism, so I had to make additional foods for myself, stuff like peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

TVGO: Mmm... sandwiches. Anyway, now that you have your new nose, will you be moving in on Paula Abdul's old turf?
Kelly B.: Yeah! I heard from one of my friends — who is one of the Energizer dancers for the Milwaukee Bucks — that tryouts should be at the end of May. I always wanted to do that, but I just didn't think I was pretty enough. I know looks shouldn't be the main thing, but my insecurity was keeping me from doing the things that I wanted to. That's how I ended up stocking shelves at a home-improvement store. [After that,] I just thought, "I need a reality check." So I'm definitely not going back to that.

TVGO: Now you'll work at the checkout counter?
Kelly B.: No, I'd like to go back to school and maybe pursue a career in being a stylist or go into fashion merchandising or home-interior merchandising. And I'd like to do cheerleading on the side and have fun with my life.